How to Detect and Fix Broken Links with Screaming Frog
Why broken links hurt your site and your revenue
Broken links are like speed bumps on your site. They stop visitors cold, raise your bounce rate, and tell users your site is out of date. When people hit a 404, they leave fast — and lost attention is lost money.
Search engines notice those stops too. A pattern of broken links creates crawl issues and weakens page authority. Your rankings slip when bots can’t follow the path you built, and fewer organic visitors mean lower long-term income.
Broken links also sap trust. If a reader can’t access a product page or a partner article, they doubt your recommendations and your site looks sloppy. That doubt cuts clicks on ads and affiliate links, and those lost clicks add up to real revenue gone.
How broken links affect your SEO and user trust
When bots encounter broken pages, they record errors and may slow or stop indexing parts of your site. That fragments your site’s signals and can drop important pages out of search results. Small sites feel this fast; big sites see steady churn.
Users notice too. A broken link during a purchase or research session creates friction. You lose the sale or the signup. If visitors feel they can’t rely on your content, they stop coming back and tell friends — damaging word of mouth.
You can find and fix many of these problems with tools. Learning “How to Detect and Fix Broken Links with Screaming Frog” gives you a hands-on method to crawl your site and list every dead link so you can prioritize fixes.
How fixing links protects ad and affiliate income
Fixing links brings visitors back to the path you want them on. Working product pages and affiliate links convert far better than dead ends. Every repaired link is a chance to recover a click and a commission.
Ads perform better when pages keep people engaged. Lower bounce and higher time-on-page lift ad impressions and RPM. Patch the holes and you stop losing impressions and clicks to 404s.
Fixes also improve partner relations. Affiliate managers notice when your links work and may give you better offers or reactivated campaigns — steady income instead of one-off hits.
Quick metrics you should check before fixing
Check 404 counts, crawl errors, bounce rate, pages per session, exit pages, affiliate click-through rate, and ad RPM first; those numbers tell you where fixes will move the needle. Use Google Search Console, your analytics, and your ad/affiliate dashboards to get raw counts, then prioritize pages that drive traffic or revenue.
How you run a crawl to identify broken links with Screaming Frog
Open Screaming Frog, enter your site URL, and hit Start. Watch the spider crawl your pages — think of it like sending a detective through your site to flag broken links, status codes, and other issues.
Keep an eye on the top summary and progress bar to see how many pages were found and how many errors surfaced. If you see many 4xx or 5xx results early, pause and dig into those first.
When the crawl finishes, export CSV reports for the Response Codes and Inlinks tabs. Those exports show which pages link to a broken URL so you can fix the source fast.
Start crawl settings you must set
Before you press Start, set Mode: Spider, check Respect Robots.txt (unless you have a reason not to), enable Crawl All Subdomains if you own them, and turn on Render JavaScript only when needed. Set a sensible Max Threads so your crawl is fast but not abusive.
Use the Crawl Overview and filters to find errors
Open the Crawl Overview and focus on Response Codes. Use the filter drop-down to switch to Client Error (4xx) or Server Error (5xx). Click any URL to see its Inlinks — that tells you exactly where the broken link lives. Use filtering, search, and sorting to triage the worst offenders first, like pages with high traffic or many inbound links.
How to Detect and Fix Broken Links with Screaming Frog
To detect broken links, filter for 4xx responses, then open the Inlinks pane to find the pages pointing to the bad URL. Export that list and sort by source page so you can fix multiple instances at once. This practical approach to “How to Detect and Fix Broken Links with Screaming Frog” removes guesswork.
To fix them, update the link in your CMS, replace it with the correct URL, or add a 301 redirect if the page moved. For external links, update to a working source or remove the link. If you have many fixes, use the export as a checklist and mark each repair as you go.
How you find 404 errors and redirect chains fast
Run a quick crawl and watch the Response Codes tab like a radar. Filter to Client Error (4xx) and you’ll see every 404. Click a row, open Inlinks, and you’ll know which pages point to the broken URL.
Hunt redirect problems with Reports > Redirect Chains. Long chains act like slow traffic: they kill link equity and confuse crawlers. Export the chains, spot the root cause (old domain links, wrong redirects), and map each chain to the page that matters most.
Fixes are simple once prioritized. For high-value pages, point links to the final URL with a single 301. For low-value or external broken links, update or remove the link. Keep a short log of changes so you don’t chase the same ghost twice.
Use the Response Codes tab to spot 404s
Open Response Codes and filter to Client Error (4xx) — that’s where the 404s live. You’ll see the broken address, the status code, and whether the page was internal or external. Click any URL and use Inlinks to learn who’s pointing at the dead page. Export the list to CSV for tracking or to share with your dev/content team.
Check redirect chains
Run Reports > Redirect Chains to get every chain on your site. The CSV shows chain length and final destination so you can spot long detours at a glance. Also check the External tab for broken outbound links and filter to 4xx — external broken links hurt user experience and can lose referral traffic.
How to prioritize 404s and chains for fixes
Prioritize by impact: fix pages with the most inlinks, highest traffic, or those that are indexed and bringing revenue first. Then tackle long redirect chains affecting those pages. Use Search Console and Analytics to rank issues — handle the big-ticket items before small cosmetic links.
How you fix internal broken links using Screaming Frog
Run a crawl with Screaming Frog and focus on the Internal tab and Response Codes filter to find 404s and other client errors. Click the Client Error (4xx) filter and open Inlinks for any broken URL — this reveals the exact sources, anchor text, and link paths in seconds. This is central to “How to Detect and Fix Broken Links with Screaming Frog.”
Decide whether to remove, replace, or redirect each broken link. Prioritize pages with traffic or conversions. Keep a simple spreadsheet with URL, source page, proposed fix, and status so you don’t lose track as you work.
Locate broken internal links and remove them
Run a full crawl and use Internal > Response Codes > Client Error (4xx) to list broken internal links. Click a broken URL, then Inlinks to see every page that points to it. Export that list to batch fixes or hand to a teammate.
To remove broken links, edit the source pages in your CMS: delete the anchor, replace the URL, or swap the link for a correct resource. If many identical links exist, use a search-and-replace plugin or database query carefully — always back up first.
Replace links or add redirects to keep pages live
If content moved, update each source page to point directly to the new URL — the cleanest fix because it removes extra hops. Keep anchor text relevant and link to final URLs rather than redirects.
When you can’t update every link immediately, add a 301 redirect from the broken URL to the best matching page. Use a plugin like Redirection in WordPress or add server rules (.htaccess or equivalent). After placing redirects, update links to avoid long redirect chains.
Steps to test fixes after changes
Re-crawl the site with Screaming Frog and confirm former 404s now return 200 or proper redirects; check Inlinks again to see that sources point where expected. Spot-check pages in a browser, review Google Search Console for coverage updates, and watch analytics for drops or recoveries.
How you audit external broken links and handle outreach
Treat broken external links like loose threads: fix them to protect traffic and ranking. Run a crawl, focus on external links and 404 responses, then sort by pages that send the most visitors or have the most backlinks. Mark high-value sources as priority.
Map each broken outbound link back to the page on your site that contains it. Produce a list: source page, broken URL, status code, and a suggested replacement URL (internal or a strong external alternative). This becomes your outreach playbook.
Decide per case: request a redirect, suggest a replacement, or propose a link swap if the other site gains too. Track responses and set reminders for follow-ups. Prioritize based on traffic, referring domains, and anchor text used.
Run reports to find external 404s
Set Screaming Frog to crawl external links. After the crawl, filter Response Codes by Client Error (4xx) to see external 404s. Export to CSV and add columns for the page containing the outbound link and the anchor text for outreach context. Combine Screaming Frog output with Google Analytics or Search Console to flag high-traffic source pages.
Reach out or swap links to protect your site value
When contacting site owners, be direct and helpful: provide the exact broken URL, where you found it on your site, and offer a replacement link or request a 301 redirect to a working page. If beneficial to them, suggest a link swap — you fix their dead link and they add a useful link back.
Keep records of every outreach attempt and track replies. If someone declines, ask for a reason and leave the door open for future swaps. Follow-ups matter — a polite nudge after a week often results in action.
What to include in your outreach messages
Include the broken URL, the source page where you found it, a screenshot or short clip if helpful, your replacement URL(s) with suggested anchor text, a brief benefit statement for them, and a clear call to action with a reasonable timeline.
How you export and monitor broken links for ongoing maintenance
You want a simple, repeatable way to catch broken links before they rot your site’s SEO. Start by running a Screaming Frog crawl and filter for Client Error (4xx) and Server Error (5xx). Export a CSV with Source URL, Target URL, Status Code, and Redirect Chain. Keep files named by date so you can compare runs and see patterns.
Save your Screaming Frog project and configuration so you can run the same settings each time. Use List Mode to watch key pages or crawl the full site for broader checks. Schedule crawls (daily, weekly, or monthly depending on traffic) so you catch problems fast. How to Detect and Fix Broken Links with Screaming Frog fits naturally into this routine as your go-to guide.
Export broken links CSV
When the crawl finishes, switch to Response Codes and filter to Client Error (4xx) or Server Error (5xx). Select rows and use Export to save a CSV named like site-brokenlinks-YYYYMMDD.csv. Open the CSV, sort by Source URL or Status Code, and add columns for Fix Status and Priority so you can assign work.
Set up Screaming Frog URL monitoring and scheduled checks
Save and export the Screaming Frog configuration so crawls are consistent. Use headless/command-line mode or launch the GUI from a scheduler so crawls run unattended. Have the run export the same CSV fields and drop files into a shared folder. Over time, comparable reports show what broke and when.
How to automate reports and alerts for regular checks
Automate with a small script that reads the CSV and checks for 4xx/5xx statuses; if issues appear, send an email, post to Slack, or trigger a webhook. Use Bash, Python, or connect the output folder to Zapier/Make for no-code alerts. Set thresholds so you only get notified when it matters — e.g., more than five broken links or a high-traffic page failing.
By following these steps and making “How to Detect and Fix Broken Links with Screaming Frog” part of your regular workflow, you’ll keep your site healthier, protect revenue, and maintain user trust.
Lucas is a technical SEO expert who has optimized over 200 websites and managed Google AdSense and Ad Manager campaigns since 2016. At ReviewWebmaster.com, he shares strategies to boost organic traffic and monetize every single visit.
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